All in Good Time
by ameize
Summary: Or alternatively, "The Art of Fake Dating" - She enters the cafe expecting nothing, only to be pleasantly surprised. A collection of connected drabbles. AU VH
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Writing this fic as a form of stress relief because finals make me want to punch walls. Updates will be sporadic.

Disclaimer: I own nothiiiing

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**All in Good Time**

**1.**

Hitomi had entered the café on a whim. A bit of last minute desperation, if you will. The dingy, old café with its peeling walls and watery coffee, owned by a sketchy old man who thought he was, of all things, the reincarnation of_ Issac Newton_— it had been her last resort. Her _very_ last resort.

She'd entered expecting nothing, only to be pleasantly surprised.

.

.

.

He's fairly attractive, she muses, chewing on her bottom lip as she watches him from five tables away. Her chin rests on the palm of one hand while the other taps rhythmically on the table.

The subject in question is a young man, probably no older than she is. From where she's seated, Hitomi can tell that he has a lean build, mildly tanned skin, and the messiest head of black hair she has ever seen. It's too bad she can't see his face, otherwise she thinks he might be a winner.

She decides she likes his messy hair. He pulls it off pretty well. It's a bit like he just got out of bed, and if her observations weren't strictly for business purposes, she might've admitted to wanting to run her hands through it. (But they were, so she didn't.)

He is also single. She knows because she's been sitting in this stuffy café for a good two hours, watching him, and he still hasn't ordered anything. Which means he's probably been stood up by his date, if he even had one to begin with. Which is a pity for him, but _wonderful_ luck for her.

Then again, he's also been approached and slapped by three different girls in the span of the two hours she'd been watching him. Hitomi isn't exactly sure what that had been about, but she figures it had more to do with the words that exited his mouth than his current relationship status.

She'd managed to hear one of the girls call him an asshole. It was rather loud. This is another point of interest that she'd like to investigate.

Hitomi gives his maybe-date five more minutes to show up, although it had been obvious that they weren't coming after the first hour had passed. She'd just wanted to make sure she wasn't charting forbidden territories. She has her morals.

When no one shows up she allows herself a small, victorious smile before rising from her seat and fixing up her blouse and skirt. She smoothes down her short, light brown hair and exhales, straightening her back.

Inhale. Exhale.

Hitomi takes the first step towards being a possibly horrible person and her spine tingles.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Funny how I update the day before school starts back up ;A; Oh well, my courses are better this term. I think.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it! Although that's probably for the best.

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**All in Good Time**

**2.**

The first thing she notices after she taps his shoulder to get his attention is the colour of his eyes. They're a deep burgundy, like the red wine she samples from her mother's cup at parties, and she thinks she feels a bit tipsy looking at them.

"…Can I help you?"

Yes. Yes he can, though not in the way he probably thinks. Hitomi watches his eyebrows furrow in mild irritation and she realizes she's been staring at him for a while now.

Right. She needs to start a conversation. Find a similar point of interest and work her way from there. If she manages to get him to like her, then maybe he'll listen to her request. She just needs to ease herself in; like with hot tubs. Slowly and carefully and with dignity.

"Go out with me." Hitomi says, and it takes a moment for her mind to register what she's just said before she quickly slaps a hand over her mouth. His eyebrows shoot up into his hairline and behind messy bangs, and Hitomi's face flushes horribly.

Christ, she must actually be drunk because she just dove into the proverbial hot tub.

"_Excuse me?_" He sounds slightly mortified (understandable) and Hitomi wants to crawl into a hole and die.

"Not…not for real," she weakly amends, trying to salvage as much of the situation as she can. "Just pretend. Uhm. Please—"

"What obligation do I have towards _you_?" He says with a scoff, and maybe it's his tone or the way he's looking at her _or something_, but suddenly she's not so much embarrassed as she is pissed.

"None," she grits. "But that doesn't give you the right to act like a… an asshole! I was only asking for a favour!"

"A stupid favour." He says bluntly, and her hand shoots forward and makes sharp, ringing contact with his left cheek.

Hitomi doesn't stay around for his reaction, stalking back to her table to pack her things and leave the stupid café with its stupid, cold coffee and stupid, _stupid_ patrons.

So what if it was a stupid favour? He could have turned her down nicely. The hand she used to slap him throbs slightly and she snorts.

Stupid asshole.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Yes! We are nearing the actual fake dating! Ah hahahaha…

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**All in Good Time**

**3.**

"Can you repeat that?" Hitomi croaks, trying to keep the shock out of her voice but failing miserably.

The boy, Van Fanel as she's recently been told, looks grudgingly at a spot near her ear. He refuses to look her in the eye and she can see why.

"I said I'll do it."

Hitomi isn't sure if he's had a change of heart or if he's just that stupid, but from the way his eyes are practically burning holes into what should be her face but isn't, she's willing to bet it's the latter.

She's tempted to refuse him out of spite. Let him have a taste of humiliation and knock him down a peg or ten. But no, Hitomi knows not to look a gift horse in the mouth, so she swallows her pride and nods, though not without eyeing him cautiously. "What's the catch?"

Van's eyes flicker to hers for a second before returning to its previous spot, slightly more hardened than before. "No catch." He grumbles. He falls silent and the air seems to thicken, leaving Hitomi no choice but to sit there feeling incredibly awkward. Well. Okay then.

This isn't quite how she expected it to happen.

Five minutes pass and Van still doesn't say anything. He just looks grimly at the spot that isn't her face and Hitomi finds herself looking behind her seat just so she could see what was so damn interesting, but all there is is a water-stained wall and an empty table. She gives him a questioning look but his eyes don't budge. It occurs to her that she is being ignored. The silence stretches and unsettles her, and Hitomi squirms in her seat. It's too quiet. Way too quiet.

She tries to break the silence. "Uhm." Hitomi says, but her voice cracks unattractively and she clears her throat, a slight flush to her cheeks. "Thank you. For, uh, accepting my request." At her words, Van finally turns to look at her, eyebrow raised. She notes that his eyes don't look as hard as they had been, and Hitomi finds herself relaxing just a bit. "And I'm sorry for, um, slapping you earlier." She isn't actually sorry, but at the very least she hopes it'll make things less awkward between them.

The corner of his lips quirk slightly. "I'm used to it." He says, and Hitomi refrains from pointing out that yes, she is aware, and no, she isn't the least bit surprised. She watches Van run a hand through his hair with a sigh, before he slumps in his seat and looks at her resignedly. "So what exactly do you want me to do?"

It suddenly occurs to her how stupid and shameful her plan is. Hitomi fiddles with her thumbs in her lap, and this time she's the one looking at anywhere but his face. She feels heat pool into her cheeks. "I need help making someone jealous." She mumbles.

When Van raises his eyebrows for what feels like the umpteenth time, Hitomi is tempted to shave them off. "That's a bit manipulative, don't you think?" His tone is slightly mocking.

"It is not!" She snaps.

Van merely waves her off. "So what, is this guy your boyfriend? Ex-boyfriend?"

Each word is like a jab and Hitomi groans and buries her face in her folded arms. "Neither…" She admits sullenly.

When he looks at her his eyes are incredulous. "Hold up, does this guy even like you? Oi, how do you even know if your plan is going to work? You do know that this whole thing could be pointless, right?"

"Shut up! _Leave me alone!_"


End file.
